26 May 2010

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

I began writing this post on Wednesday. Its title, Kids Say the Darnedest Things, I borrowed from the name of a show hosted in the late 50s by Art Linkletter. Obviously, I wasn't around to see the show when it first sired, but my grandmother had a book of excerpts from the program that I'd read whenever we visited her house. I LOVED that book, and I loved Art Linkletter. I thought he was so clever to be able to interview these kids and get such consistently funny responses. I mean, I was a kid at the time, and I certainly had never said anything so oddball as those kids in the book said.

I found out last night that Art Linkletter died on Wednesday, the very same day I was composing this post about a couple of humorous things my kids said that day. Strange coincidence, no? Well, Art, thanks for publishing such a funny book for me to read at my grandma's house. Hiding in the back bedroom reading it probably saved me from all sorts of work. In honor of you, here are a few of the darnedest things my kids said the other day.

It began when Judah was singing a song he learned at Bible Study. The actual song goes like this:

I may never march in the Infantry
Ride in the Cavalry
Shoot the artillery
I may never fly o'er the enemy,
But I'm in the Lord's Army!

But of course, I liked Judah's version better:

I may never march or hit the tree
Ride in the cattlery
Shoot the artillery
I may never fly o'er the energy,
But I'm in the Lord's army!

Charis head him singing and knew it was all wrong. So she offered up to him HER correct version of the song:

I may never march in the impentry
Ride in the Calvary
Shoot the Altiraly
I may never fly ower enemy
But I'm in the Lord's Army!

Ah, kids. They do say the darnedest things.

And finally, we had homemade fried rice and homemade egg rolls for dinner last night. Judah particularly liked the egg rolls.

Judah: Mama, did you make these egg rolls?
Me: Yep.
Judah: All by yourself?
Me: Yep.
Judah: And no Chinese persons even helped you?

Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!

21 May 2010

Charis Gallery

I think this is why I hate posting pictures. I can never get them to end up in any specific order. Why does this picture stay stuck up here? And why is it duplicated below? And why won't blogger let me delete it? I will probably never know.

At any rate, here are some (very old) shots of my precious first born, who will turn 6 in less than a month. Where did all of the time go?
I just love when she gives me a good smile for the camera. Usually, she puts on a grumpy or silly face.
This was her first "gingerbread" house, made out of graham crackers, frosting, and lots of candy. I may be biased, but her house was the best one. Of course, she's almost a year older than the next oldest child who made a house, so that's probably to be expected.
Ah, yes. This is a more typical shot of sweet Charis. One of these days, when she really learns to read quickly (She CAN read. Isn't that amazing?), we'll have to get this girl in drama. She has a million emotive faces available at a moment's notice.
Like this one, taken on a school field trip to see how maple syrup is made. You just have to love those eyes! (At least, I do)
Here she is "drilling" for "sap" in a "maple tree." It was actually "turning the crank four times" for "air" in a "dead stump."
On a mission: Easter egg hunting. Do NOT get in her way when she's hunting Easter eggs. You'll get run over.
And, finally, Charis' first year coloring Easter eggs. We did a dozen eggs, and this year, for our first year, we went very basic. I accidentally purchased a "tie dye" egg-coloring kit, but after reading the directions, I quietly threw away all of the tie dye paraphernalia and all we did was straight dipping. Amazingly, the eggs turned out great--not a brown one in the lot.

I'm hoping that, now that the weather is nicer and it's staying lighter longer, I'll start to be more consistent in taking the camera out. I am WOEFULLY behind on taking snapshots of my beautiful little people. And maybe one of these days, I'll learn how to upload pictures to Blogger without major drama!

11 May 2010

Mother's Day 2010

I wish I had gotten a picture of myself with my kiddos on Mother's Day--they were so adorable, and for many reasons, this Mother's Day was especially precious. Of course, Ruby is still unaware that any day is different from any other, but Charis and Judah are well aware. Weeks ago, Charis' teacher asked us to bring in a bar of Dove soap for a Mother's Day craft the kids were making. The day Charis brought it home, already beautifully wrapped in tissue paper and ribbon, I thought she would explode with anticipation. On Saturday evening, I stayed home and cleaned the house (I wanted it clean for a relaxing Mother's Day but knew I was on my own for that particular wish) while Abe took the three munchkins to Meijer to have them pick out some treats to give to me the next day. They loved the time with Daddy, and I loved the quiet and very productive time at home.

Sunday morning dawned nice and sunny, if a little bit cold, and I showered and got ready before I went up to wake the kids. I woke Charis first.

"Mom, you were supposed to sleep in as long as you wanted," Charis protested.

Judah wasn't as ready to get up, and he protested differently--whining about how he didn't get to sleep long enough. either. Just then, Charis piped in again. "I'll go downstairs and get your presents," she said. Judah sat straight up, and in his most chipper and excited voice, he said, "Is it MOTHER'S DAY????!!?!?" You'd think it was Christmas morning.

He and Charis were thrilled to be able to celebrate me. I opened the cards and papers and drawings they gave me. Charis wrote her name neatly on her card, but Judah, who can't write very well yet, had drawn me a picture--a page full of a circular mass of scribbles. "I drew you the whole world, Mommy!" Charis gave me her Dove bar craft--a Dove bar wrapped in tulle, with beads attached with pins. I don't totally understand its intended purpose, but it is sitting on display in the bathroom, where I can admire it. I thanked them profusely and asked them to please change quickly into their church clothes. It being my special day, they complied. Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, we made it out the door on time and I arrived to choir a few minutes early. Abe told me that was his Mother's Day gift to me. We spend too many Sunday mornings driving to church in a snit, because I'm frustrated that my husband's lack of time management has made me late yet again. Having a Sunday morning drive be pleasant was truly a great gift.

After church, we discussed what we'd do for lunch. "Make pasta salad," said Judah.

"I'm not cooking," I replied.

"How about pizza?" he asked.

"Yeah," Charis chimed in, "you could make us each our own favorite pizzas!"

"They seem determined to get you to cook," Abe chuckled.

In the end, we did choose pizza, but we chose to have someone else cook it for us. We went to a pizza restaurant near our church, and I think we will definitely go there again. The pizza was outstanding. Abe and I shared a pizza with Alfredo sauce, roasted chicken, bacon, mushrooms, feta cheese, and mozzarella, with a light crust brushed with whipped garlic butter and finished with a sprinkling of oregano and Parmesan. Good grief, it was good. The kids had a cheese pizza and couldn't have been happier.

We returned home where the kids presented me with their treats--double chocolate Klondike bars, a bar of dark chocolate Toblerone, and a dozen Ferrero Rocher Rondnoir chocolates. And two bottles of Coke. Nothing says love like a trunkload of sugar!

After that, we put the kids down for a nap, and I slept for two hours. THAT was a great gift. When we all woke up, we drove to Abe's mom's house. I called my mom on the way and had a nice chat with her. After visiting with Abe's folks for a while, we all packed up and met Abe's sister and family for ice cream. Then it was back home and to bed.

All in all, it was the THE BEST MOTHER'S DAY EVER. Except for the fact that I didn't get a picture to commemorate it, it couldn't have been more perfect.